/ 






NOTES 



ON 



S 1 1 AKSPERE'S VERSIFICATION. 



'VITH APPENDIX ON THE VERSE TESTS, AND A 
SHORT DESCRIPTIV BIBLIOGRAFY. 



BY 



GEORGE H. BROWNE, A.M. 



. 



- - - IM if 

: 



BOSTON: 
GINN, HEATH, AND CO. 

1884. 



7T?3c?. 

■2 



Copyright 1S8£, 
By Ginn, Heath, and Co. 



!RntbfT8ttD JjJrrsa : 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



NOTE. 



The following notes were hastily put together, just hefore an examination, 

r the purpose of supplying my own pupils with a concise orderly summary 

the main features of Shakspere's Versification, and were preservd with the 

^pe that in future classes I might be relievd of unnecessary expenditure 

0! time upon what is a secondary, but by no means unimportant, subject in 

"aching Shakspere* A few extra copies were printed from a desire to share 

'e possibilities of this relief with other teachers, who, deploring the unscien- 

ic statement and chaotic 'arrangement' of existing works on the subject, 

ay likewise hav been forct unwillingly to omit the subject altogether. 

( course, whatever value an outline like this may have will depend mainly 

'in the accuracy and effectivness of the illustrations. The most useful 

rtion of the little pamphlet, therefore, will prove to be the blank pages, 

ich hav been inserted for the reader to record his own examples on and 

correct any misquotations which may hav escapd the very careful revision 

he University Press. 

G. H. B. 
Cambridge, February, 1884. 

E It is needless to say that I hav drawn freely from Abbott's Shakesjiearean Grammar and 

js's Early English Pronunciation. Further illustrativ matter may be found in those 
wo 
, . ks ; also in W. Sidnet Walker's Versification of Shakespeare (London 1854) ; and in 

Critical Examination of the Text of Shakespeare, 3 vols. (London, 1860). C. Ba- 

, rctsT's Changes in Shakespeare's Versification (1857) is now out of print. The student of 

raetics needs not to be reminded of the immense advantage familiarity with the "phonetic 
. nt of view'' gives a student of prosody; nor the teacher of language phonetically, of the 
. lossibility of effectivly substituting arbitrary symbols for oral instruction. Some gain, 
..ever, may perhaps be made by following up, in the books quoted in the notes, the hints 
_,. ;e thrown out. The best general work is Slevers' Grundzilge der Phonetik (Leipzig, 1881). 

. first chapter of Storm's Englische Philologic (Heilbronn, 1881) contains excellent state- 
(; its and criticisms of the best works on general phonetics from Merkel and Briicke to Henry 
j- .«et. Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics (London, 1877) is the most available book in Eng- 
t . (Melvill3 Bell is already antiquated.) The latest and best summary of the main fea- 
cq ( ;s of this youngest of the modern sciences is in an article by Moritz Trautmann, Anglia, T. 
ar |-598. More especially applicable to the points brought up in these notes is an excellent 
gu cle by the same on the r sounds in English, in Anglia,lll. 209. Those who still look with 
Uj ( picion upon the intrusion of "phonetics,'' and shrink from " phonetic spellings" (even in 
^strations) because they lack dictionary authority, are most respectfully referrd to the New 

qlish Dictionary , the first part of which has recently been publisht. 



io 

of 

he 

of 

te 

d 



& 



SHAKSPERE'S VERSIFICATION. 



" The English heroic verse is usually stated to consist of ten syllables : 
it is better divided into five groups, each of which theoretically consists of 
two syllables, of which the second only is accented. . . . Practically, many 
of the groups are allowed to consist of three syllables, two of them being 
unaccented.* . . . The number of syllables may therefore be greater than 
ten,t while the accents may be, and most generally are, less than five. J . . . 
If there be an accent at the end of the third and fifth group, or at the end of 
the second and fourth, other accents may be distributed almost at pleasure.§ 
The last group may also have one or two unaccented syllables after its last 
accent." — Ellis, Essentials of Phonetics, p. 77 (1847). || 

Now Shakspere's Sonnets are remarkably melodious, and conform to the 
strictest rules of rhythm and metre. The dramatic poetry, on the other hand, 

* " The limit of trisyllabic substitution is three feet out of five." — J. B. Mayor, Phil. Soc. 
Trans., 1ST5-76, p. 412. 

t " A verse may often have more than ten syllables, and more or less than five accents, but 
it must carry so much sound as shall be a satisfactory equivalent for ten syllables, and must 
have its accents arranged so as to content an ear prepared for five." — J. A. Symonds, Fort- 
nightly Review, Dec, 1874. 

t Abbott (453 a) states that about one line in three has the full number of emphatic ac- 
cents ; about two in four have four, and one out of fifteen, three. It is of more importance to 
remember, (1.) that the first foot almost always has an emphatic accent ; (2.) that two unem- 
phatic accents rarely, if ever, come together ; and (3.) that there is generally an emphatic accent 
on the third or fourth foot. 

§ " The true rule, I suspect, is that you may invert the place of the accent (substitute — — 

for ) in any group except the last, provided you don't do it in two together." — F.J. 

x^Fcknivall, N. Sli. Soc. Trans., 1874, I. 27. 

|| Cf. E. Eny. Pron., p. 333 (1869): " In the modern verse of five measures, there must 
be a principal stress on the last syllable of the second and fourth measures, or of the first and 
fourth, or of the third and some other measure. There is also a stress upon the last syllable 
of the fifth measure, but if any one of the three conditions above stated are satisfied, the verse 
is complete." 

" Is it not better to allow that three out of the five feet may be — --'. without laying down 
the law as to the order in which they may come ? If I were disposed to make any more definite 
rule, I should prefer to say that in general it would be found that the fifth, and either the sec- 
ond or third foot, had the final accent." — J. B. Mayor, Phil. Soc. Trans., 1876, p. 452. 
" The chief defect in the rules is in regard to the fifth measure. The general condition is that 
the last syllabic! should not be weaker than the preceding syllable or syllables, and that, when 
it is actually weaker, it should be at least longer or heavier." — Ellis, ib. p. 464. 



is naturally more irregular and diversified ; for here the monotonous recur- 
rence of a uniform ten-syllable line with five regular accents would be par- 
ticularly inexpressive and offensive. The masterly art and delicate rythmical 
feeling with which Shakspere avoided this monotony make him the most 
musical of all writers of blank verse. Of course, the most truly characteristic 
features of his inimitable rythm defy analysis ; but for the very reason that 
Shakspere was so sure a master, he did not, in his self-sufficient independence 
of metrical restraint, arbitrarily ignore all metrical laws. " Shakspere never 
mangles the type of his blank verse, consequently in every line five rythmic 
accents are always present or accounted-for : and it is in his method of 
' accounting-for ' them that Shakspere's mastery is so apparent, for it is the 
method of common speech, and his verse forever crowds the firm fabric of the 
type, as a canvas, with all the rythmical figures of every-day utterance? 1 
(Sidney Laxier, Science of English Verse, p. 215.) But the every-day utter- 
ance of Shakspere's time was in many particulars very different from our 
common speech. It is necessary, therefore, to realize something of the 
changd conditions of accent, pronunciation, etc., of Elizabethan English be- 
fore we can approach the subject of rythmic versification intelligently. Of 
these diversified conditions, the following may be mentiond as contributing 
most to the variety and beauty of Shakspere's dramatic verse : — 1. The 
caesural pause. 2. The place of the accent. 3. Many syllables are con- 
tracted, now uncontracted. 4. Many syllables are expanded, not now allow- 
able. 

I. C^SURA. 

1. The accent after a pause is frequently on the first syllable. 

Feed and regard him not. A're you a man ? Mcb. iii. 4. 58, et seep. 
Particularly at the beginning of the line. 

Rumble thy belly full ! Spit fire ! Spout rain ! K. L. iii. 2. 14. 

2. An extra syllable is frequently added before a pause, especially at the 
end of a line.* 

'T is not alone my inky cloak, good moth-er. H. i. 2. 77. 

We '11 have a swashing and a martial outside. A. Y. i. 3. 122. 

For mine own sMe-ties ; you may be rightly just. Mcb. iv. 3. 30. 

For goodness dares not cWck thee ; wear thou thy wrongs. lb. iv. 3. 33. 

With all the honors on my brother: whereon. T. i. 2. 127. 

The extra syllable, however, is rarely a monosyllable : — 

* Strictly speaking, there is no such thing in rythm as a really " extra" syllable ; what- 
ever time value there is in the bar is distributed among all the sounds in that bar, whether 
they be one, three, or none, — that is, rests. For the identity of this variation with Chaucers 
verse, see page 33, Ex. (4) ; and cf. p. 31, note. 



Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition : 

By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then, 

The image of his maker, hope to wfn by H f LT 8 iii. 2. 441.* 

3. Two extra syllables are sometimes allowd, if unemphatic, before a 
pause, especially at the end of the line. (These, however, are usually con- 
tracted (cf. III. 5, 6, 7, etc., below) ; there are of course but fire accents. 
Vid. 2, note, and cf. V., below.) 

Look where he comes! not poppy nor mandragoro. 0. iii. 3. 330. 

Is not so Estimable, profitable neither. M. V. i. 3. 167. 

Peruse the letter. Nothing almost sees miracles 

But miserj'. K. L. ii. 2. 172; lb. i. 1. 225. 

I dare avouch it, sir; what, fifty followers f lb. ii. 4. 240. 

As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. lb. i. 4. 261. 

Age is unnecessary ; on my knees I beg. lb. ii. 4. 157. 

So, manacles, Cor. i. 9. 57; vc'r%, lb. v. 2. 18; ]6a\ousy, H 5 v. 2. 491; recoro- 
pense, T. C. iii. 3. 8 ; iiMow her, A. Y. iii. 5. 49; dieted, Cor. i. 9. 52; unmanraerty, 
K. L. i. 1. 147. 

II. ACCENT.! 

1. Some words, mostly dissyllabic, especially verbs, have the accent 
farther back than at present. — Abbott, Gr., 492; Ellis, E. Eng. Pron., 
930, 931. 

The gentle archbishop of York is up 

With well-appointed powers. 2 H 4 i. 1. 119. 

I talk not of your soul : our compelled sins 

Stand more for number than account. M. M. ii. 4. 57. 

My conceal'd lady to her cancell'd love. R. J. iii. 3. 98. 

Good even to my ghostly confessor. E. J. ii. 6. 21. 

Let it work; 
For 't is the sport to have the <5nginer 
Hoist with his own petar. H. iii. 4, 203. 
So, pi'oner, lb. i. 5. 1G2; miitiners, Cor. i. 1. 255. 

Labienus bath with his Parthian force 
Extended Asia from Euphrates. A. C. i. 2. 106. 

* Not Shateperc's. The enumeration of these redundant syllables in 133 enabled Mr. 
Spedding, as early as 1850, to separate Fletcher's work from Shakspere's. Vid. N. Sh. Soc. 
Trans., I., Appendix, p. 14. 

t While it may not be necessary , evn for critical students, to read a permanent classic like 
Shakspere with his own pronunciation (which is now fairly well made out, cf. Ellis, E. Eng. 
J'ron., Cap. VIII. § 8), it is importaut for all to read him metrically ; and when we do aright, 
we find, not that Shakspere himself changd the accent " for the sake of the metre," but that 
pince his time the regular accent of many words kas changd. So with the resolutions, so 
ealld ; it i3 we moderns who hav done the changing, by reading as one syllable what in 
Shakspere's time was two. And no observing student can fail to notice in the spokn lan- 
guage of modern poetry many Blurrd contractions and other apparent irregularities of Shak- 
spere's verse. It is when we try to print them that they seem " forced and unnatural " 



So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand, 
Hath motion. Son. 114. (Walker, LV1I.) 
Than twenty silly-ducking observants. K. L. ii. 2. 109. 
Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks. M. N. D. iii. 2. 237. 
So, H. i. 5. 1G2; perseverance, Mcb. iv. 3. 93. 

At Pentapolis the fair Thaisa. P. v. 3. 4. 

Cf. delectable, R2 ii. 3. 7; detestable, K. J. iii. 4. 29; horizon, 3 H« iv. 7.81; 
implorators, II. i. 3. 129; maintain, 1 H 6 i. 1.71; mature. K. L. iv. 6. 228; plebeians, 
Cor. v. 4. 39; A. C. iv. 12. 34; mankind, T. of A. iv. 1. 40; perspective, A. W. v. 
3. 48; pursuit, Son. 143; purveyor, Mcb. i. 6. 22; receptacle, R. J. iv. 3. 39; redapse, 
H5 iv. 3. 107; successors, II 8 i. 1. 60. 

2. Some words have the accent nearer the end than with us now. (" Latin 
[French] dissyllabic derivatives are oxytone." Ben Jonson.) — Abbott, 
490; Ellis, 930, 931. 

I say without characters fame lives long. R 3 iii. 1. 81; H. i. 3. 59. 

Mark our contract; mark your divorce, young sir. W. T. iv. 4. 428; T. ii. 1. 151. 

Our wills and fates do so contrary run. H. iii. 2. 221. 

And world's exile is death: then banished. R. J. iii. 3 29. 

That no revenue hath but thy good spirits. II. iii. 2. 63. 

Banisht this frail sepulchre of our flesh. R2 i. 3. 194. Cf. K. L. ii. 4, 134. 

By heaven, she 's a dainty one, sweetheart. II 3 i. 4. 94. 

As 'twere triumphing at mine enemies. R 3 iii. 4. 91. 

Cf. abject, R3 i. 1. 106; aspect, A. C. i. 5. 33; R 3 i. 1. 155; commerce, T. C. i. 
3. 105; compact, J. C. iii. 1. 215; corner, 3 lis iv. 5. 6; edict, 2 H<5 iii. 2. 258; 
exploits, H5 i. 2. 121; instinct, Cor. v. 3. 35; obdurate, M. V. iv. 1. 8; opportune, 
T. iv. 1. 26; portents, O. i. 2. 45; J. C. ii. 2. 50; prescience, J. C. i. 3. 199; 
sinister, II 5 ii. 4. 85; triumph, 1 H 4 v. 4. 14; welcome, R 2 ii. 3. 170. 

3. A word repeated in the same verse often has two accents the first 
time, and one the second ; or occupies a whole bar the first time, and only 
part of a bar the second; and vice versa, according to emphasis. 

These violent desires have vi-olent ends. R. J. ii. 6. 9. 

Sti-ll so cruel ? Still so constant, lord. T. N. v. 1. 113. Cf. IV. 1. b. 

Of greatest justice. Wri-yte, write, Rinaldo. A. W. iii. 4. 29. Cf. IV. 2. a. 

Yield, Marcius, yi-eld. Hi'-ar mt' one word. Cor. iii. 1. 215. Cf. IV. 1. a. 2. 

Give me that : patience, -pa-ti-ence I need. K. L. ii. 4. 274. 

The'rcfdre and wherefore sometimes have two accents ; never wherefore. 

How cam'st thou hither, tell me and wherefore. R. .1. ii. 2. 62; K. L. ii. 4. 106. 
Make haste, therefore, sweet love, whilst it is prime. Son. 70. 

4. Some words have a double accent. 

Trv what repentance can ; what can it not V 

Yet what cau it, when one cannot repent? H. iii. 3. 65. 



Toward the end of Sbakspere's career the modern pronunciation became 
prevalent, as shown in 

Your cld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours. T. v. 1. 185. 
Cf. I, myself, fight not once in forty year (?). 1 H<5 i. 3. 91. 
And handing thdmselves in contrary parts. 1 H 6 iii. 1. 81. 

But the modern pronunciation is more common. Schmidt (Lex. p. 1413) 
states the general rule that dissyllabic adjectives and participles throw the 
accent back before nouns accented on the first syllable, when that is in the 
arsis. E. g. the form cdmplete always precedes a noun accented on the first 
syllable ; complete is always in the predicate. Compare 

He is complete in feature and in mind. T. G. ii. 4. 73 ; and 
A maid of grace and complete majesty. L. L. L. i. 1. 137. 
That thou dread corpse again in complete steel. H. i. 5. 61. 
Also, 

And whom she finds forlorn, she doth lament. Lucr. 1500; and 
And from the forlorn world his visage hide. Sou. 33. 
Cf. Adverse, pernicious enemy. R 2 i. 3. 82; and 
Thy adverse party. Son. 35. 
Verse to constancy confined. Son. 105; and 
Forfeit to a confined doom. Son. 107. 
Of our despfsed nobility. H 8 iii. 2. 291 ; and 
The pangs of despised love. H. iii. 1. 72. 
Romeo is exiled. R. J. iii. 2. 133; and 
Calling home our exiled friends. Mcb. v. 8. 66. 
Obscure and lowly swain. 2 H 6 iv. 1. 50; and 
His obscure funeral. H. iv. 5. 213. 
Profound simplicity. L. L. L. v. 2. 52; and 
These profound heaves. H. iv. 1. 1. 
Secure foolhardy king. R 2 . v. 3. 43; and 
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole. H. i. 5, 61. 
Supposed sincere unholy in his thoughts. 2 H 4 i. 1. 202. 
Sir, in good sooth, in sincere verity. K. L. ii. 2. 111. 

So, contrived, corrupt, dispersed, distinct, distract, exact, exhaled, ex- 
pired, express, extreme, humane, profane, remiss, severe, supreme. Espe- 
cially adjectives and participles with the prefix un-. 

How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides. K. L. iii. 4. 30. ( Vid. Sch. 1. c. ff. ) 

5. Words in -ized and -ised throw the accent back (pron. Ised). 

As I by friends am well advertised. R 3 iv. 4. 501. 
Why thy canonized bones hearsed in death. H. i. 4. 47. 
And when this arm of mine hath chastised, R 3 iv. 4. 331. 
Authoriz'd by her grandam shame itself. Mcb. iii. 4. 66. 
Of Jacques Falconbridge solemnized. L. L. L. ii. 1. 42. 



10 

6. French accent sometimes ret^i' 1. 

Young, valiant, wise, and, no doubt, right royal. R3 i. 2. 245. 

So, reason, merchant, fortune, pardon, mercy. This Romance accent in blank 
verse, however, is commoner just before Shakspere (vid. Schroeer, Die An- 
fdnge dcs Blankverses in England, Anglia IV. 15 ff.) : palao?, mountain, manere, 
envy, poison, season, honour, picture (Surrey); mischfef, entrailes (Sackville); 
marriage, experience (Gascoigxe); lions, christall, etc. (Spenser, Visions of 
Belay); honest, argue (Lyly). 

7. Our spondee frequently trochaic in Shakspere. 

Hark, hark, the lark at heaven's gate siugs. Cy. ii. 3. 21. 

I pray thee Launce, an if thou seest my boy, 

Bid him make haste, and meet me at the north gate. T. G. iii. 1. 258. 

On the belt's back I do fly. T. v. 1. 91. As horseback, now. 

I take thy hand, this hand, 
As soft as dove's down and as white as it. W. T. iv. 4. 374. 

So, jay's nest, T. ii. 2. 173; swan's nest, Cy. iii. 4. 142; wealth's sake, C. E. 
iii. 2. 6; fair-play,K. J. v. 1. 67. 

III. CONTRACTIONS. (Ellis, 939, 940.) 

1. Prefixes dropt. (Abbott 466 ; Ellis, p. 939). 

(a)bove, Mcb. iii. 5. 31; (a)bout, T. i. 2. 220; (be)cause, Mcb. iii. 6. 21; 
(ac)count, H. iv. 7. 17; (be)havior, H. i. 2. 81; (a)larum, Cor. i. 4. 9; (be)nighted, 
K. L. iv. 5. 13; (an)noyanee, H. iii. 3. 13; (ap)parel, K. L. iv. 1. 51; (com)plain, 
lb. iii. 1. 39; (e)scape, oftn; 'scuse for excuse, O.iv. 1. 80; (at)tend, H. iv. 3. 47. 

A soothsayer bids you (be)ware the ides of March. J. C. i. 2. 19. 

(Be)c6mes (en)de'ar'd by being lack'd. A. C. i. 4. 44. 

2. th in the middle of a word oftn dropt after a vowel. (Abbott, 46G.) 
In other the th is so completely dropt that it has becom our ordinary 

" or." So whe^er is oftn writn wh'er (K. L. ii. 1. 55), and nearly always so 
pronounct. 

Whe^er aught to us unknown afflicts him thus. H. ii. 2. 17. 
And whe^Aer he run or fly they know not whe^er. V. A. 51. 
Hither Heav'ra with light' ning strike the murderer dead, 
Or earth gape open wide. R 3 l. 2. 64. 
Glou. The king is in high rage. 

Corn. Whiter is he going? K. L. ii. 4. 299; A. Y. i. 3. 92. 

Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose 'em. J. C. ii. 1. 298. 
So, brother, R2 v . 3, 137; f ur theT, 1 H* iii. 1. 257; hither, R8 i. 4. 250; thither, 
2 He i. 4. 78; rather, O. iii. 4,25; neither, M. V. i. 1. 78. 



11 

3. Contraction takes place when a vowel follows v. Cf. hast = havest ; 
has = ha vcth or haves ; o'er = over ; e'er = ever ; evil = ill, as now. 

II«ring God, her conscience, and these bars against me. R 3 i. 2. 235. 
Cf. M. V. iii. 2. 124; V. A. 823; 1 IP iii. 1. 34; T. A. v. 1. 61 ; A.W. v. 3. 123. 

Travel you far <5n, or are you at the farthest. T. S. iv. 2. 73. 

No marvel) my lord, tho' it affrighted you. R 3 i. 4. 04. 
Cf. 'T is marie he stabb'd you not. B. Jonson, E. Man out H., v. 4. 

A dzvil, a bor-n dev-il, in whose nature. T. iv. 1. 188. (Cf. II. 3.) 

So also, Mcb. iv. 3. 56 ; IP iv. 1. 12; 1 IP i. 3. 85; cf. T. N. i. 5. 270. 

The spirit that I have seene 
May be a deale, and the deale hath power 
, 'P assume a pleasing shape. H. ii. 2. 627; Q2. Q3. 

So, dram of eale = evil (lb. i. 4. 36) = ill, as now. Cy. v. 5. 60; K. J. iii. 
4. 115; IPiv. 1.5. 

4. Final vocalic -r (-er, -re), -1 (-el, -le), m, and n, frequently resume the 
force of consonants, particularly before another vowel or h, with correspond- 
ing loss of syllable.* 

Report should render him hourly to your ear. Cy. iii. 4. 153. Read : ren-d'r'iwi. 

This letter he early bid me give his father. R. J. v. 3. 275. Read: lt5t-fr'e. 

Cowards fa-ther cowards and base things si-re base. Cy. iv. 2. 26. 

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries. Son. 29. Read: trubl deaf. 

I 'd whists her off and let her drown the wind. 0. iii. 3. 262; K. L. iv. 2. 29. 

In the dark backward and abysm, of time. T. i. 2. 50. Read: ahfs-mof. 

The mc'sseregers from our sister and the King. K. L. ii. 2. 54; A. C. iii. 6. 31. 

Had we doue so at first, we had drove» them home. A. C. iv. 7. 4. Read : 
we'd drov-nem.. 
So, drivera, O. i. 3. 232; and Heavera, givew, etc., as in modern hymns. 

Needle in " Gammer Gurton's Needle " rymes with/eefe. 
Cf. And griping it the neec/le his finger pricks. Lucr. 319. 

To thread the postern of a small needle's eye. R 2 v. 5. 17 ; K. J. v. 2. 157. 
Ct. 1 am a gendman of a company. H 5 iv. 1. 39; gen'man, Udall. 

* It must not be forgotn that the liquids 1, m, n, r, in English, as well as in the ancient 
languages (vid. Am. Jour. Philol., 1. 3. 282), are sounds capable of being prolongd and suscep- 
tible of accent, and that consequently they can each form a syllable. ( Vid. Sievers, Phonetik, 
p. 29,sqq.) E.g. he v-re zz heaven, not heav-ere ; hin-«7, not hand-ei or haad-le. uSweet, 
§§ 252, 254.) Vocalic m occurs, for example, in tho vulg. prou. el-m for elm, and in abysm, 
chasm, prism. Final vocalic r, however, has for the most part becom the neutral vowel o (as 
in but). E.g., " tha writ-3," for "the writer." But the r reappears before a vowel, " ths 
wriW-r of books " ; sometimes evn where it does not legitimately belong, as " the idea-r of it." 
(Vid. Storm. Eng. Phil., I. 92.) Now a large number of contractions in Shakspere arise from 
the surrender of this syllabic function of 1, m, n, and r. Vid. W. D. WnrrNEY, The Rela- 
tion of Vowel and Consonant, Oriental and Linguistic Essays, p. 277 sqq. 



12 

\ 

So, sample, Cy. i. 1. 48; people, 3 H<3 iv. 2. 2; uncle, A. T. i. 3. 44; littfe, W iii. 
2. 336; K. L. ii. 4. 91; humbie, T. S. i. 1. 174; noble, T. A. iv. 1. 29 ; coup/e, T. S. 
iii. 2. 42; suffer, T. G. v. 4. 76; master, T. i. 2. 162; father, T. i. 2. 1; encounter 
Aer, W. T. ii. 1. 20. 

Cf. For him were Uvere have at his beddes heede. Chaucek, Prol. C. T. 293. 

5. The force of r is also effectiv in certain classes of words (the greater 
part of them composd of two short syllables), which are frequently con- 
tracted into one syllable, or occupy monosyllabic places in the line, chiefly 
when they are followed by vowels. E. g. : — 

Ham. Perchance 't will walk again. 

Hor. I warrant it will. II. i. 2. 243. 

.' have cast off forever; thou shalt, I warrant thee. K. L. i. 4. 332. 
A barren detested vale you see it is. T. A. ii. 3. 92. 
And then they say no spirit dares stir abroad. II. i. 1. 161; T. i. 2. 215. 
Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake. 1 H 6 v. 4. 57. 
So, Clarence, 3 H 6 iv. 1. 9; alantm, Mcb. v. 5. 51; Cor. ii. 2. 80; flour'shing, 
T. G. v. 4. 3; nourish, 2 H6 iii. 1. 348 (cf. nurse). 

6. The weakest unaccented syllable in polysyllables oftn slurrd over, 
particularly i. (See 5, ad Jin.) 

Judicious pun' shment! 'T was this flesh begot. K. L. iii. 4. 76. 
His short thick neck cannot be eas'ly harm'd. V. A. 627. 
Of smooth civfl'ty, yet am I inland bred. A. Y. ii. 7. 96. 

So, pretfly, heart'ly, am'ty, qual'ty hostil'ty, curios'ty, importun'ty, indign'ty, 
commun'ties, hiunid'ty, pur'ty; moiety, Son. 46. 

Hold thee from this forever. The barbarous Scythian. K. L. i. 1. 118. 
Our purpose necessary and not envious. J. C. ii. 1. 178. 
Thoughts specwlative their unsure hopes relate. Mcb. v. 4. 19. 
Conjectwral marriages making parties strong. Cor. i. 1. 198. 
Innocent milk in it most innocent mouth. W. T. iii. 2. 101. 

01 iv. How now, Malvolio ! 

Mai. Ma'am, yow 've clone me wrong. T. N. v. 1. 336. 

Go thou to sanctuary and good thoughts possess thee. R 3 iv. 1. 94. Vid. Ellis, p. 948. 

So, blemish, W. T. iii. 2. 199; prom'sing, C. E. v. 1. 222; conference, Mcb. iii. 
1. 80; majesty, A. W. ii. 1. 98; remedy, Mcb. iii. 2. 11; inventory, W. iii. 2. 152; 
stillitory, V. A. 74; Bartholomew, T. S. Ind. i. 105; Hauerford, R 3 iv. 5. 7; ig- 
nomirey, M. M. ii. 4. Ill; Enobarbus, A. C. iii. 2. 55; par'lous = perilous, E 3 ii. 
4. 35 ; canstick = candlestick, 1 H 4 iii. 1. 131. 

7. Words in which a " light " vowel sound is preceded by a " heavy " 
vowel sound are slurrd into monosyllables. 

That on the view and knowing of these contents. H. v. 2. 44. 
The which no sooner had his prowess eonfirm'd. Mob. v. 8. 41. 
And executing th' outward face of royalty. T. i. 2. 104. 



13 

So, being, doing, seeming, saying, playing, growing, tying, drawing, blowing, 
power, jewel. Cf. po'sy of a ring, H. iii. 2. 162. So, poetry and poet in Eliza- 
bethan writers. Sheriff, 2 II 4 iv. 4. 4 = shrieve. 

8. ed following d or t oftn not writn and when writn not pronounct. 

For treason executed in our late King's days. 1 H6 ii. 4. 91 ; v. 1. 169. 
Was aptly fitted and naturally performed. T. S. Ind. i. 87. 
When service sweat for duty, not for meed. A. Y. ii. 3. 58. 
And I of ladies most deject and wretche«\ H. iii. 1. 163. 
The wild waves whist. T. i. 2. 379. Milton, Nativ. Ode, 64. 
Cf. Abb. 341, 342, and vid. II. ii. 1. 112: A. Y. i. 2. 156; M. V. iii. 2. 169; 
M. Ado ii. 1. 189, etc.; H5 i. 2. 305; 1 H* v. 5. 13. 

Similarly two dental syllables are contracted into one. E. g. it after let, 
set, yet, etc. 

I humbly set it at j-our will; but for my mistress. Cy. iv. 3. 13. 
You are a young huntsman, Marcus ; let it alone. T. A. iv. 2. 101. 
You see is kill'd in him; and yet it is danger. K. L. iv. 7. 79. 

9. ed of participles and preterits (particularly after palatals) contracted 
into d (after k and s (sh) — t). 

Lay me stark -naked and let the water flies. A. C. v. 2. 59; H. iv. 7. 52. 

By what by-paths and Indirect a-ook'd ways. 2 H 4 iv. 5. 185. 

Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it. 3 II 6 v. 6. 79. 

Alack, for lesser knowledge ! how accursed (= H) 

In being so blesi. W. T. ii. 1. 38. (Cf. III. 7.) T. i. 2. 61. 

What can happen 
To me above this wretchednessV All your studies 
Make me a curse like this. H s iii. 1. 122. 
Thus like a slave rarje/'d, like a felon gyv'd. Hetwood. 
Sometimes contracted and uncontracted in the same line. 

Hence banished is banish'd from the world. R. J. iii. 3. 19. (Cf. II. 3.) 
To this unlook'd for, unprepared pomp. K. J. ii. 1. 560. 
That were embatailled and rank'd in Kent. lb. iv. 2. 200. 
Despls'd, distressed, hated, martyr'd, kill'd. R. J. iv. 5. 59. 

10. The plural and the possessive case of nouns in which the singular ends 
in s, se, ss, ce, and ge, frequently writn and more frequently pronounct 
without additional syllable. (Walkee, LI. ; Abbott, 471.) 

Doct. You see her eyes are open. 

Gent. Ay, but their sense are shut. Mcb. v. 1. 29; Son. 112. 

The Images of revolt and flying off. K. L. ii. 4. 91. 

I '11 to him; he is hid at Laurence' cell. R. J. iii. 2. 141. 

How many ways shall Carthage's glory grow. Surrey's Mn. iv. (Walker.) 

As blanks, benevolences, and I wot not what. R 2 ii. 1. 250. 



14 

For tinctures stains relics and cognizance'. J. C. ii. 2. 89 ; lb. ii. 1. 148. 

Are there balance' here to weigh the flesh? M. V. iv. 1. 255. 

Sits on his horse' back at mine hostess' door. K. J. ii. 1. 289 f£. 

Giving my verdict on the white rose' side. 1 H 6 ii. 4. 48. 

Stept before targe' of proof (plural). Cy. v. 5. 5; A. C. ii. G. 39. 
Cf. Keats, Endymion, iii., "brazen beaks and targe'; Rudders," etc. 
Is modern English pulse, after same analogy, for pulses, in Shelley, Revolt of 
Islam, V. xlviii., " From both the hearts whose pulse in joy now beat together "? 

So, George('s), R 3 v. 3. 344; purpose(s), Cy. iv. 3. 15; service(s), 0. i. 2. 18; 
conveyance(s), C. v. 1. 54. These verse. Daniel. 

Will see the porpoise and the dolphins play. Siiirly, Narcissus. 

12. Superlativ oftn contracted. 

The sweet'st, dear'st creature's dead, and vengeance for 't 
Not dropt down yet. W. T. iii. 2. 202. 
This is thy eld'st son's son. K. J. ii. 1. 177; Cy. i. 1. 58. 
The stern'st good night. Mcb. ii. 2. 4. 
Cf. Thou stroakd'st me and mad'st much of me, would'st give me. T. i. 2. 333. 
So, thought'st, A. W. ii. 1. 133; spok'st, W. T. i. 2. 88; speak'st, L. L. L. iv. 
1. 12; lov'st, W. T. i. 2. 174; split'st, ib. 349; great'st, A. W. ii. 1. 163; fair'st, 
W. T. iv. 4. 112; new'st, Mcb. iv. 3. 174; deep'st, T. G. v. 4. 71; near'st, W. T. 
iii. 2. 52; rar'st, P. v. 1. 233; faithfull'st, T. N. v. 117; strong'st, T. iv. 20; un- 
pleasant' st, M. V. iii. 2. 254. Cf. Pope, Imit. Hor. Epist. i. 60, " arrant' st 
puppy." 

13. Other Contractions ("Walker, V., VI.). Personal pronouns: it 
='t ; us = 's ; in the = i' the ; on the = o' the ; in his = in 's ; of his = o's ; 
he has = h'as ; they have = they 've ; thou wert = th' wert ; you were = 
you 're ; he were = h' were ; she were = sh' were, H. iv. 5. 14 ; at the = 
at', K. L. ii. 4. 10, cf. 76. ii. 2. 116; that it = that', K. L. i. 1. 211. So, 
this' = this is : 

O this' the poison of deep grief; it springs. H. iv. 5. 76. 

This ' a good block. K. L. iv. 6. 187. 

Bey. My lord, I have. 

Pol. God be with you, fare you well. H. ii. 1. 69. 

God b' wi' you = Good bye. B'wye old gentleman. Smollet, Rod'k Ran- 
dom, ch. iii. ad fin. Cf. Godgigoden, R. J. i. 2. 57 = God give you good even ; 
God dig you den, L. L. L. iv. 1. 43 ; Godild, H. iv. 5. 41 = God yield ; 
's wounds, H. ii. 2. 604 = 'zounds, O. i. 1. 86 = God's wounds. So, 'sblood, 
H. ii. 2. 384. Cf. By 'r leave, M. M. iv. 3. 115 , Cy. ii. 3. 70 ; By 'r lady, R. J. 
i. 5. 35, H. iii. 2. 140; and oftu in prose. 



15 



IV. EXPANSIONS OR RESOLUTIONS* 

1. Liquids maintain their phonetic force as vowels. (See III. 4, note.) 
a. 1. Syllabic r. (Ellis, 451 ; Abbott, 477-480.) 

You sent me deputy to I-?'e-land. H 8 iii. 2. 2G0. 

I am the son of Hen-r-y the Fifth. 3 H<5 i. 1. 107. 

Farewell : commend me to your mfs-ir-e'ss. R. J. ii. 4. 204. 

Good my lord, the see-r-ets of nature. J. C. iv. 2. 74. 

Ignomu in ransom and free pa-r-don 

A' re of two houses, lawful me-r-cy. M. M. ii. 4. Ill, 112; R 3 iv. 4. 515. 

(Cf. II. 3.) 

So, mons-^r-ous, Meb. iii. 6. 8; ang-r-y, T. of A. iii. 5. 57; en-Z?'-ance., R. J. i. 

4. 7; coun-fr-y, T. N. i. 2. 21; Cor. i. 9. 17; pil-^r-im, A. W. iii. 5. 43; breth-r-en, 

T. A. i. 1. 347; chil-dr-en, C. E. v. 1. 3G0; Ber-i/--am's, A.W.i. 1. 94; ims-tr-ate, 

A. C. v. 1. 2. 

2. This syllabic r (final) occurs most frequently after a long vowel sound, 
especially in monosyllables. 

As fi?'e drives out fire, so pity pity. J. C iii. 1. 171. 

I know a bank wher-re the wild thyme blows. M. N. D. ii. 1. 249. 

Hear, Nature, he-«r; 6.4-ar Goddess, hear. K. L. i. 4. 297. 

Hath turn'd my feigned prayers on rny head. R 3 v. 1. 21. 

May-or, farewell, thou dost but what thou mayst. 1 H 6 i. 3. 86. 

The greatest strength and pow-er he can make. R 3 iv. 4. 449. 
So, fa-ir, T. iv. 1. 31; fa-re, K. J. v. 7. 35; me-re, K. L. ii. 4. 99; the"-re, R. J. 
iv. 5. 36; wh<5-re, H. i. 2. 185; ne-ar, Meb. ii. 3. 146; te"-ars, Cor. v. 6. 101; 
ye-ar, T. i. 2. 53; si-re, A. W. ii. 3. 142; mo-re, K. L. v. 3. 16S; your, W. T. iii. 
2. 232. 

3. This same r is oftn prolongd with a kind of burr, giving another 
syllable. Cf. sirrah = sir. 

Look how he makes to Ca>sar! marrk him! J. C. iii. 1. 18; T. i. 2. 88. 

Strikes his breast harrd and anon he casts. H 8 iii. 2. 117. 

The we-ird sisters hand in hand. Meb. i. 3. 32. 

Do more than this in sport. Father, father ! K. L. ii. 1. 37. 

To show her bleeding body thorough Rome (= E. E. thurh), Lucr. 1851. 
So, apa-rt, A. C. iii. 13. 47; a-rts, L. L. L. ii. 1. 45; thf-rd, 1 He i. 1. 276; w6-rd, 
H. iii. 4. 180; fou-rth, R3 iv. 1. 112; hear-t, Cor. iii. 2. 54; lorrd, R 3 ii. 1. 110; 
marrch, H 5 iii. 6. 150. 

* Just as in music, rests may receive part of the time-allotment of a bar, so, effective disposi- 
tion of pauses, even in accented positions, in the verse, may frequently obviate the necessity of 
resolution. 



16 

6. Syllabic 1. (Spenser inserts the unnecessary e in some of these words ; 
as, handeling, F. Q. i. 8 28; enterance, lb. 34.) 

A rotten ease abides no han-rf£-ing. 2 H 4 iv. 1. 161. 

Than Bolingbroke's return to Eng-/-and. E 2 . iv. 4. 2G3. 

Why, then, I wi-ll, Fa-rewell, old Gaunt. R8 i. 2. 44. 

Just as you left them, — Orll pris'ners, sir. T. v. 1. 8. 

Yea, lookst thou p;We 1 Let me see the writing. R 2 v. 2. 57. 

Be free 1 and hea-Miful. So tart a favor. A. C. ii. 5. 33. 

This ignorant present and I fe(5-Z now. Mcb. i. 5. 58. 

While he himself keeps in the cd-W held. 3 H6 iv. 3. 41. 
So frequently adverbs in -ly (Walker, p. 23), deep-Z-y, W. T. ii. 3; short-Z-y, R 3 
iv. 4; quick-^-y, M. M. ii. 4. So, assemb-/-y, Cor. i. 1. 159; nob-Z-y, K. L. v. 1. 28; 
humb-J-er, Ho iii. 1. 56. Cf. fid-^-er, T. S. ii. 1. 158; jug-yZ-er, M. N. D. iii. 2. 
282; Lord Doug-Z-as, 1 H 4 v. 2. 33; dn-ll, C. E. v. 1. 70: wi-S, J. C. iii. 2. 153; 
change-2-ing, M. N. D. ii. 1. 23; me-Z-ted, lb. iv. 1. 1G3. 

c. Syllabic n (less common). 

Of quick cross light- n-ing ? To watch, poor perdu. K. L. iv. 7. 35. 

With them, Sir Thomas Vaugh-'re, pris-'w-ers. R 3 ii. 4. 43. 

1 do wander everywhere, 

Swifter than the moo-n's sphere. M. N. D. ii. 1. 7. (Cf. 2. a. 5.) 

Each man 's like m(-ne : y<5u have shown all Hector's. A. C. iv. 8. 7. 

Mine own and not mine 6w-n. A're you sure? M. N. D. iv. 1. 180 

Which is most ia.i-nt. Now 't is true. T. Ep. 3. 

At a poor man's house: he tis'd me kf-ndly. Cor. i. 9. 83. 
So, oftn nouns in -ness (Walker, p. 20), sick-n-ess, 1 II 4 iv. 1. Cf. H. ii. 2. 147 ff. 
wit-w-ess, T. G. iv. 2. 110. So, frie-reds, M. M. iii. 1. 28; joi-ret, M. M. v. 1. 314; 
go-we, M. V. ii. 9. 7%; the-wce, H. ii. 1. 148; Fra-wce, II 5 i. 2. 167; ord-w-ance 
(not necessarily ordinance, as Ff.), H 5 ii. 4. 126; thor-wi, lb. 329; sta-nd, H 8 i. 
2. 85; gra-nt, T. i. 2. 79 ; ki-wg, Cy. v. 5. 407. 

d Syllabic m (rare). 

Lear. To this detested groo-m. 

Gon. A't your chofce, sir. K. L. ii. 4. 220. 

But ro6-?n, fairy, here comes Oberon. M. N. D. ii. 1. 58. 
Co-wie, good fellow, put my fr-on on. A. C. iv. 4. 3. 
Card. Ro-me shall remedv this. 

Glou. Roam thither th<?n. 1 IP iii. 1. 51. 

At a crackt draeh-ro! Cushions leaden spoons. Cor. i. 5. 6. 
Then shall the realm of Albion Co-?«e to great confus-ion. K. L. iii. 2. 92. 
So Rome, A. C i. 4. 73; co-mes (pron. ca'-mz)/ M. N. D. iv. 1. 163. 

* Phonetically in these cases in which the liquids appear, it is not necessary to suppose the 
first vowel sound split up or prolongd. In fact, the impression (arising in part from the inad- 
equacy of our graphic symbols) that this style of scansion is forct and unnatural will in 
great measure vanish, if it be borne in mind that the language, under consideration consists of 
sounds, not letters, and that the accent treated of is not merely a series of isolated word- or 



17 

e. Syllabic s (se, z). (Cf. colloq. "I sh'd think so.") 

Yes, madam, he was of that consort. K. L. ii. 1. 97. 

Where pray-ers cross. A't what time to-morrow. M. M. ii. 2. 159. 

And au eternal cdr-se fall on you. Meb. iv. 1. lOo. 

Take time to paii-.w ; and by the next new moon. M. N. D. i. 1. 83. 

W6r-se and worse, she will not come ! vile ! T. S. v. 2. 93. (Cf. II. 3.) 

Not in the wor-st rank of manhood say 't. Mcb. iii. 1. 103. 

I pray you, si-rs, lie in my te"nt and sleep. J. C. iv. 3. 240. 

The go-ds, not the patricians, make it, and. Cor. i. 1. T5. 

Why so brave, \6r-ds,* whdn we join in league? It' 2 iv. 1. 104. 

2 Emphatic monosyllables oftn take the place of a whole foot. 
a. Diphthongs t resolvd: — 

1. di or a'. Horrible si-ight ! Now 1 see 'tis true. Mcb. iv. 1. 122. 

Will you be ruled by me? A'y-?/, my lord. H. iv. 7. 60. 

2. e'\ Stay-?/, the king hath thrown his warder down. Cor. i. 3. 118. 

I '11 b' wi' you stra-ight. Go a little before. H. iv. 4. 31. 
To iai-l in the disposing of those chances. Cor. iv. 7. 40. 
He humbly prays you speedy pay-?/ment. T. of A. ii. 2. 28. 
So, may-?/, R2 ii. 1. 148; yea-?/, Cor. iii. 2. 2; kai-Z, Mcb. i. 2. 5. (Cf. IV. 1. b.) 

3. 6 U . O o but she '11 ke-ep her word. H. iii. 2. 214. 

O o the difference of man and man ! K. L. iv. 2. 25. 
Is gd-ads, thor-Ks, nettles, tails of wasps. W. T. i. 2. 329. 
So, wlio-Ze,K. L. i. 2. 14. (Cf. IV. 1 b.) 

4. V. Forward not permanent, swe'e-t not lasting. H. i. 3. 8. 

Speak, Lavmia, what accursed hand — T. A. iii. 1. 66. 
So, stee-1, Cor. i. 9. 45; yi'e-ld, 1 HS iii. 1. 112. (Cf. IV. 1. b.) 

syllable-accents, but a rythmical sentence- or verse-accent. A little close observation, too, of 
our own natural rapid speech, will reveal many identical resolutions and contractions ; we do 
not, however, attempt to represent them in our writn language. 

* Formerly this word, and words like it, would hav com under IV. 1. a. 3. Now the r has 
almost completely disappeard from it, so that it generally sounds like liiw-dz. Evn if the 
pronunciation in Shakspere's time cannot be provn to hav existed exactly as intimated hero 
and in 2. a, its existence now enables the modern reader to account physiologically for many 
apparent anomalies which otherwise must be left unexplaind as " arbitrary licenses for the 
sake of the metre." 

t The long vowels, so calld in English, are nearly all diphthongs. (Vid. Sweet, Handb. of 
Phonetics, §§ 200-208.) E. g. The sound in the pronoun I (cf. R. J. iii. 2. 45) vanishes into 
either i (machine, Melville Bell) or i (pity, A. J. Ellis, Early Eng. Pron., 1100). The first 
element also varies, as seen in Isaiah (Ellis, p. 108 ; Storm, Eng. Phil., p. 75) ; in N. Eng. 
it is generally a (father). " Stay-?/ " vanishes in the same way: stc 1 (Storm, p. 75; Ellis, 
p. 1108); o in "goad" vanishes intott (f?<ll): g5 u d. "Sweet" and "boot" vanish into 
narrower vowel sounds (Sievers, Phonetik, p. 121), almost consonantal. Sweet writes them 
iy in-1 we. It will thus be seen that this resolution of the "long" vowels in Shakspere's 
verse is but an anticipation of the phonetic spelling of our modern pronunciation of the same 
6ounds. (Vid. the Philological Society's New English Dictionary, p. xiv., 1884.) 



18 

5. u w . Pulloff my boo-t: Larder, harder, so. K. L. iv. 6. 177. 

But moo-dy and du-ZJ melancholy. C. of E. v. 1. 79. 
He straight declined, droo-p'd, took it deeply. W. T. ii. 3. 14. 
Goo-d* my lord, give me thy favor still. T. iv. 1. 204. 
So, no6-re, W. T. i. 2. 290. (Cf. IV. 1. c.) 

6. o». What say you, bo-ys'l Will you bide with Sim? T. A. v. 2. 137. 

Of their own cho-ice : one is Junius Brutus. Cor. i. 1. 220. 

6. Exclamations : — 

Where be the knaves? Whd-at, no man at door! T. S. iv. 1. 125. 
But so-J't ! company is coming here. lb. iv. 5. 26. 
Cf. You and your cra-fts you have crafted fair. Cor. iv. 6. 118. 

c. Emphasizd by position or antithesis : — 

When Caesar's Wad is off. Ye-t I fear him. J. C. ii. 1. 183. 

Of goodly thousands. Bu-t for all this. Mcb. iv. 3. 44. 

How in my strength you please. For you-a, Edmund. K. L. ii. 1. 114. 
So, hxi-t, A. C. v. 1. 27; ye-t, K. L. i. 4. 3G5; T. A. iii. 2. 7G. Especially em- 
phatic pronouns (Cf. a), you-w, M. V. ii. 6. 24, Cor. v. 3. 192, 0. iii. 4. 44, J. C. 
iv. 3. 9; thoii-w (?), H^ ii. 2. 128. 

3. -ion (pron. si-on), two syllables, generally final. (Abbott, 479. List 
in Ellis, 948-959.) Very common. 

Of Hamlet's transfonnat-i-on : so call it. H. ii. 2. 5. 

Yet have I fierce affect-i-ous and think. A. C. i. 5. 17. 

Jove, Jove ! this shepherd's pass-i-on 

Is much upon my fash-i-on. A. Y. ii. 4. 01. 
So, relig-i-on, K. J. iii. 1. 279; rebell-i-on, 3 H8 i. 1. 133, mill-i-on, T. A. ii. 1. 
49; compan-i-on, P. i. 1. 4; obliv-i-on, T. C. iv. 5. 107; oce-an, H 5 iii. 1. 14; pu-is- 
sance, 2 H* i. 3. 77; le-o-pard, 1 H6 i. 5. 31 ; cre-a-ture, 1 H6 i. 0. 4; T. N. v. 1. 231; 
ple-a-sures, T. A. i. 2. 151 (?Ellis, p. 947); gor-ge-ous, K. L. ii. 4. 271; sur-ge-ons, 
lb. iv. 0. 190; ser-ge-ant, Mcb. i. 2. 3; extra-ordinary, H* iii. 1. 41; lb. iii. 2. 78; 
buri-ed, H5 iii. 3. 9; putrifi-ed, T. C. v. 9. 1; mortifi-ed, J. C. ii. 1. 324; miscarri-ed, 
M. V. ii. 8. 29; follow-ed, Cor. i. 4. 42; consider-ed, R 3 iii. 7. 176; bus-i-iiess, Cor. 
v. 3. 8. 

So also, final -ience, -ient, -iant, -ious, -iage, -ial, -ier. 

And yet 't is almost 'gainst myconsci-ence. H. v. 2. 307. 

For I do know Fluellcn vali-ant. H 5 iv. 7. 187. 

Than the sea-monster ! Pray, sir, be pati-ent. K. L. i. 4. 283. 

Did this in Caesar seem ambit-i-ous ? J. C. iii. 2. 95. 

And in his wisdom hastes our marri-age. E. J. iv. 2. 145. 

Too nattering sweet to be substanti-al. lb. ii. 2. 141. 

As you are friends, scholars, and soldi-ers. II. i. 5. 141. 



19 

4. a. e mute pronounct. (Relic of Early Eng. pronunciation.) 

Your grace mistak-es: only to be brief. R 2 iii. 3. 9. 
Till all thy bones with ach-es make thee roar. T. i. 2. 370. 
Who 's there that knock-es so imperiously? 1 H 6 i. 3. 5. 
She dreamt to-night she saw my statue. J. C. ii. 2. 76. 
Latin statua; so lb. iii. 2. 192; R3 iii. 7. 25. (Walker, LX.) 

Be valued 'gainst your wife's command-e-ment. M- V. iv. 451. 

(Cf. IV. 1. c.) 
So, Glou-ces-ter, 1 H6i. 3. 62; Cat-es-by, R3 iii. 1. 157; Wor-ces-ter, R 2 ii. 2. 58; 
Col-e-ville, 2 H* iv. 3. 79; crad-1-es, T. C. iii. 3. 200. 

b. Syllabic genitiv : — 

To show his teeth as white as whale's bones. L. L. L. v. 2. 332. 

Of Mare's fiery steed. To other regi-ons. A. W. ii. 3. 300 ; T. iv. 1. 98. 

c. Syllabic French e. 

The melancholy Jacqu-es grieves at that. A. Y. ii. 1. 26. 
O my Paroll-es they have married me. A. W. ii. 3. 289. 
His grace is at Marseill-es, to which place. lb. iv. 3. 9. 
Now Esperance, Percy, and set on. 1 H 4 v. 2. 97. 
Dicu de batail-/es ! Where have they this mettle? 
" Yiv-e le roi," as I have bankt their towns. K. J. v. 2. 104. 
Cf. A wise stout cap(i)tain and soon persuaded. 3 H 5 iv. 7. 30; Mcb. i. 2. 34. 
Great mar(e)shal to Hen-r-y the Sixth. 1 H6 iv. 7. 70. 
Siuk-a-pace for cinque pace. T. N. i. 3. 139. 



V. ALEXANDRINES. 

By means of the above contractions, softenings, etc., the reader may 
avoid the so-call'd " extra " syllables in many of the trisyllabic measures. 
To know when to contract and when to resolve, however, will depend very 
much upon his musical ear and metrical taste. Bear in mind what has been 
thrown out about the " time-allotment " of each bar and about the rythmical 
sentence- and verse-accent. (Cf. Sievers,* §§ 25, 32-34.) Don't try to scan; 

* " Wir verstehen jetzt untcr der Accentuirung ernes Wortes die relative Charakteristik 
aller seiner Silben, unter Satzaccentuirung die relative Charakteristik aller Theile eines 
Satzes." (p. 177.) Cf. Sweet, § 259 : "The only phonetic function of word-division is to indi- 
cate occasionally the syllable-divisions in sentences. . . . Word-division is perfectly useless to 
those readers who are practically familiar with the particular language : they do not hear any 
word-division in rapid speech, and require it still less in slow, deliberate reading " § 314. (Cf. 
p. 115, and Ellis, p" 1206.) On pp. 117-119, Sweet prints a passage of Tennyson's blank verse, 
" The Passing of Arthur," Shelley's "To-Night," and Keats's " In a Drear-nigh ted December," 
representing graphically his own natural syllable-accentuation. Cf. F. Techmer, Die Silbe, 
Internationale Zeitschrift, Th. I. pp. 167-170. Leipzig, 1884. Aai'Eius,On Accent and Em- 
phasis, Phil. Soc. Trans. , 1873-74, p. 128 £f. " Of course the ordinary spelling-book syllabi- 



20 

but aim at the sense. (See p. 21, Emerson.) "Be not too tame neither," 
that is, too slow. Read easily and naturally ; and just as in a musical " air 
with variations " the melody of the " air " is never wholly obscured by the 
" variations," so the characteristic type of Shakspere's verse will maintain 
itself through all the rythmical variations ; the " extra " syllables will of 
themselves appropriate their rightful " time-allotment," most of them will be 
obscured in pronunciation to the uniform vowel sound a (but), and many 
uf them will disappear altogether. Five stress-periods, however, will be dis- 
tinctly markt : varying in emphasis, to be sure, but rarely exceeding five 
in number. For the imported French heroic verse of six feet in two halves, 
each with three accents, tho' poems in this metre usherd in the Eliza- 
bethan era,* was never quite in the spirit of English versification. That 
Shakspere uses it occasionally for variety t is not surprising, considering the 
place it filld in literature in his time ; but its slow, crawling movement is, 

fication is pure nonsense. . . . The division of words was not marked in the older Greek or in 
Sanskrit. In English, any one who compares the written with the spoken divisions must feel 
how arbitrary the former are, and how widely the two divisions disagree. . . . Now the specific 
differences on which alone depend the effects known as accent and emphasis form two distinct 
classes according as they a.re fixt or free. The first class includes accent and the native in- 
tonation of sentences ; the free class then includes emphasis and rhetorical expression. 
The means at the disposal of speakers for both classes are length, pitch, force, and form, with 
their successions and glides. ' But different languages differ greatly in their arrangement of 
these as fixt and free. . . . Laconically English accent may be defined as fixt force and free 
pitch. (So German and Italian, but in French, force and pitch, and even length, are practically 
free ; hence there is no accent, but only emphasis.) In the classical languages, length was 
fixt, and also the direction of the change of pitch ; but force was probably free." Cf. his Quan- 
titative Pronunciation of Latin, Cap. V. The logical accent will of course vary with each 
individual's interpretation of the text. The rythmical accent, on the other hand, (charac- 
terizd by increase of intensity, not by change of pitch,) occurs regularly, and marks the 
verse-bars; the effect of the rythmic accent is therefore to establish a definit rythm for the 
ear, while that of the logical accent is to fZ/sestablish this rythm by differently timed recur- 
rences which set up different groupings of two three, or more bars. Cf. Lanier, p. 87. 

* " Poems in this metre ushered in the sera of Elizabeth : and no one can look with other 
feelings than respect upon the favourite rhythm of a Howard, a Sidney, and a Drayton." — 
Guest, Hist. Eng. Rythms, I. 255. 

t For example, see II. iv. 5. 141, quoted below. For a complete list of Shakspere's Alexan- 
drines, see Mr. Fleay's exhaustiv paper in Inglebt's Shakspere: The Man and the Book, 
Part II. (1881), p. 71 ff., in which all his earlier metrical tables, etc. are revisd and enlargd. 
Up to All 's Well and Measure for Measure, the number of Alexandrines varies from half a 
dozen to a dozen in each play (except R. J., surreptitiously printed with 27, all of which were 
corrected in Q 2 , and R 2 with 54, all of which ought to hav been similarly corrected, but un- 
accountably escapd). Shakspere's "Third Period'' begins in A. W. and M. M. with a larger 
proportion of Alexandrines, and with the still more decisiv change in the markt increase of 
" extra mid-syllables " before the main caesura ; it begins to close with the appearance in Lear 
of a new kind of Alexandrine, having a pause after the second syllable. This is common to the 
" Fourth Period," which is characterizd not only by a larger proportion of Alexandrines, but 
also by an increast number of caesuras after the second, fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth, and 
tenth syllables ; by an increase of brokn lines, of feminine and weak endings, and by a corre- 
sponding decrease of rymed and end-stopt lines. See Appendix on the Verse Tests. 



21 

as we shall see, quite foreign to his color-full rythmic variation of the 3-rythm 
type. (On the term 3-rythm, see p. 32.) 

An interesting confirmation of this view is furnisht by the corrobora'iv 
evidence of the verse-tests, when applied to the question of the divided 
authorship of H 8 , first suspected on moral and aesthetic grounds. Tennyson, 
in his undergraduate days (1829-33), usd to read to his friends the genuine 
parts of this play, and Emerson, in Representative Men (publisht 1S50), little 
suspecting Fletcher, said : — 

" In Henry VIII. I think I see plainly the cropping out of the original rock on 
which his own liner stratum was laid. The first play was written by a superior, 
thoughtful man, with a vicious ear. I can mark his lines, and know well their 
cadence. See Wolsey's soliloquy, and the following scene with Cromwell, where, 
instead of the metre of Shakspeare, whose secret is that the thought constructs the 
tune, so that reading for the sense will best bring out the rhythm, — here the lines 
are constructed on a given tune, and the verse has even a trace of pulpit eloquence." 

A careful comparison of this scene with any of Shakspere's undoubted 
work (act i. scs. 2, 3 : ii. 3, 4; hi. 2 (to 203) ; and v. 1) will reveal the secret 
of the immense musical difference between them. For while Shakspere's 
double-ending lines are nearly all "run on," thereby varying the rhythm, 
without destroying the five-barrd metrical type of the blank verse, Fletcher's, 
on the other hand, are nearly all "end-stopt " ; the "extra" syllable, owing 
to the pause, seems to begin a sixth bar, and the slow, heavy, un-Shaksperean 
rhythm is therefore due to the fact that Fletcher's lines are really Alexan- 
drines with a deficient final syllable. E. g. : — 

Farewell ! | a long | farewell,* || to all | my great | ness! 
This is | the state | of man : || to-day | he puts | forth 
The ten | der leaves | of hope ; || to-mor | row bios | sonis, 
And bears | his blush | ing lion | ors thick | upon | him; | 
The third | day comes | a frost, || a kill | ing frost, | 
And, when | he thinks, | good ea | sy man I full sure | If 
His great | ness is | a ripen | ing, nips | his root, | 
And then | he falls | as I | do, etc. iii. 2. 351 ff. 

Yet Ellis says that " Shakspere seems never to hesitate to use a pure 
Alexandrine when it suits his convenience"; and he considers Abbott's 
"trimeter couplet "t but a difference of terms; for "the true Alexandrine 
as a pause at the end of the third measure" (p. 943). Ellis distinguishes 
well- and lightly-markt Alexandrines (pp. 943-94j6), and evn adds some 
resulting from resolutions (p. 952). 

* Cf. Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge, iv. 4 : " Farewell ! 

To all our happiness, a long farewell ! " 

t Apparent Alexandrines are often couplets of two verses of three accents each. They are 
often thus printed as two short verses in Ff. But the degree of separateness between the two 
verses varies greatly. Abb. 500. 



22 

A few comparisons, however, will reveal the artificial un-Shaksperean 
accentuation of some of Mr. Ellis's " well-markt Alexandrines." ( Vid. his 
own definition of Shakspere's verse, p. 5.) Compare : 

The fliix | of com | pany. |i Anon | a care | less hdrd. A. Y. ii. 1. 52, with 
A 



:B: = *: 



„ H r ^ j i \, 



t= 



The flux of com-pany. A -non a care- less herd.* 

[Cf. III. 6. 
And Tho' yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death, 

The mem | ory | be green, || and that | it us | be-fitted 

To bear our hearts in grief. ... II. i. 2. 1. Compare with 

A A A A A A 



:~8- 



t— p- — *- 



? : f: = ^-J 7 * =I fi— ^ z= f-^— = « z ^ 



I i ea i --M e 

The mem' rv be green, and that it us be - fitted or, be - fit.' 

(III. 8.) 

Now see commendable, M. V. i. 1. Ill, and contrast Ellis's reading: — 

'Tis swc'-et | and com | men-da | ble in | your na | ture, Hamlet. H. i. 2. 87, with 
A ' A AAA A 



iilfes 



M/ 



_,:j=«_ 



t±«= 



==tz±=E=s=:=t: 



'Tis sweet and commend" - ble in your na - ture, Hamlet, or, and commend'ble. 

Cf. As chil | dren from | a bear || the Vol | sees shun [ ning him. Cor. i. 3. 34, and 
A A A A A 



[E^i-iL — j r .., fj: -=f~ p~b* — f~\~ f r 1 r ~~f~1 



As child/-'ra from a bear the Vol - sees shun - ning him. 

So, Allmor|tal con] sequences have | pronounced | me thus. Mcb. v. 3. 5. 
A.. mor|tal cons | , quence(s) || have | pronounced | me thus. 

I prom | ise you | I am | afraid | to hear | you tell it. Cor. i. 4. 65. 
I prom'se | you I 'm | afraid j to hear | you tell 't. 

Come sfs 1 ter, cous | in, I | would say, | pray par | don me\ R 2 ii. 2. 105. 
Come sis | ter, cous'n, | I'd say | pray par | don me. 

Anne. I would I knew thy heart. || Glou. ! T is ffgured in my tongue. 
Anne. I fe ! ar me both are false. || Glou. Then never man was true. 
Anne. Well, we'll, put lip vour sword. || Glou. Say tb^n my peace is made. 

" R3 i. 2. 193. 



* On the musical notation, see p. 31, note, and p. 32. 



23 

The pause may perhaps justify the last as "trimeter couplets." The fol- 
lowing, however, are genuine Alexandrines. (Notice the caesuras.) 

(Spenserian.) And these | does she | apply | for warn | ings and | portents. 
J. C. iii. 1. 23. Cf. L. L. L. v. 2. 261; M. V. ii. 9. 25; T. i. 2. 236. 

(2d syl.) Whip him. || Were 't tvven | ty of | the great | est trib | utaries. A. C. 
iii. 13. 96. 

(3d ?) Rinal | do, || you | did nev | er lack | advice | so much. A. W. iii. 4. 19. 

(1th.) Shall there | attend you. || My re | compense | is thanks, | that's all. P. 
iii. 4. 16. 

(5th.) I '11 no | gainsay | ing. || Press | me not, | I beseech | you, so. W. T. i. 

2. 19. This pause is characteristic of W. T., as (8) is of U s . (Fleay, I. c, p. 90.) 
(6th. French.) Of your | dear fa | ther's death, || is't writ | in your | revenge. 

II. iv. 5. 111. 

(1th.) In mon | ument | al mock | cry. || Take | the in | stant way. T. C. iii. 

3. 153. 

(8^/(. More worth | than emp | ty van | z'ties; || Yet prayers | and wishes. H s 
ii. 3. 69. 

At Mar | ia | na's house | to-night. || Her cause | and yours. M. M. iv. 3. 145. 
Marian's V as Helen for Helena, M. N. D. i. 1. 208. Cf. Cor. v. 1. 68. 

(9th.) The os | tenta | tion of | our love | which, || left | unshown. A. C. iii. 6. 51. 

(10th.) Let it | be grant | ed you | have seen | all this || — and praise. Cy. ii. 4. 92. 

(11th?) The Avar | like ser | vice he | has done | consid | er: || think. Cor. iii. 3.49. 

Cf. A cherry Ifp, a bonny eye, a passing, pleasing tongue. R 3 i. 1. 94, seven 
measures ! 

Cf. also T. A. i. 1. 203, a saturnine; and L. L. L. ii. 1. 232 ff., 4-rhythm. 

Lines with four accents are very rare, unless there is, (1.) a pause,* or 
(2.) interruption in the line. When there is (3.) a change of thought, they 
are not uncommon. This is calld the logical pause. 

(1.) Must give us pause. | ' | There 's the respect. H. iii. 1. 68. 

(2.) He's ta'en. [Shout.] And hark, they shout for joy. J. C. v. 3. 32. 

(3.) Let us withdraw. | ' | 'Twill be a storm. K. L. ii. 4. 290. 

Dramatic speeches oftn do not fit at the end ; and interjectional and par- 
tial lines are not infrequently met with, particularly in scenes where passion 
is at its height. Vid. K. L. iv. 6. 112, sqq., 198, sqq. The highest passion 
expresses itself in prose. O. iv. 1. 34-44. 

* On the rythmical value of the pause, vid. Laniee, p. 187, ff. 



24 



APPENDIX I. 

ON THE VALUE OF THE VERSE TESTS IN ESTABLISHING THE 
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF SHAKSPERE'S PLAYS. 

Whatever may be the value of possessing the chronological order of 
Shakspere's plays,* it must be admitted that nothing of late years has con- 
tributed more to fixing that order than the critical investigation of the poet's 
versification which has been made chiefly by the members of the New Shak- 
spere Society.! Some of the results of their work may be indicated by 
comparing the chief metrical characteristics of the earliest and the latest 
plays. In the early plays, for example, not only do the lines themselves 
pause at the end, without any "extra" syllables, but there is a pause in the 
sense there as well. The proportion of these " end-stopt " lines, as they are 
calld, to the " run-on" lines in L. L. L. (Shakspere's first genuine play), is 
1 in 18.14, or 5.5 % ; in W. T. it is 1 in 2.12 or 47.2%. This is Mr. Furnivall's 
" end-stopt test," first employed by Bathurst in 1857. (See Introduction to 
the Leopold Shakspere, §76 (2), and Gervinus's Commentaries, p. xxv.) Count- 
ing by speeches instead of by lines, this test reveals a similar falling off in 
speeches ending with the end of the line, and a corresponding increase of 
speeches ending in the middle of the line. In C. of E., for example, 1 speech 
in 81.33 is mid-stopt, or 1.23 % ; in W. T., 1 in 1.49 or GG.9 % ! This is Prof. 
Ingram's " speech-ending " test workt out by Mr. Pulling (^V. Sh. Soc. Trans., 
1877-79, iii., p." 458. ) In like manner, dissyllabic or feminine endings increase 
from 4 % in L. L. L. to 44 % in 77 s ! Hertzberg, Pre/, to Cymbeline. The 
proportion of lines containing " extra mid-syllables " (i. e. before the caesural 
pause) to blank-verse lines varies, for example, from 1 in 28G or 0.35 % in 

* Cf. Ferness's Variorum Lear, p. 382. For lists of the various evidences of 
chronological sequence, external and internal, see Dowden's Primer, Chap. IV., 
J. "W. Hales in London Academy, Jan. 17, 1874, and Dr. Ingleby's Shakspere : 
The Man and Look, Pt. II., 1881. The latter contains the latest and most com- 
prehensiv summary. For history of the verse tests, see Prof. Ingram's paper in 
JV. Sh. Soc. Trans., 1874, p. 442. 

j " The New Shakspere Society was founded in the autumn of 1873, to do honour 
to Shakspere, to make out the succession of his plays, and thereby the growth of 
his mind and art, to promote the intelligent study of him, and to print texts illus- 
trating his works and his times." — First Rejwrt, July, 1875. 

"Never before had the importance of studying Shakspere as a whole, of ascer- 
taining, on evidence, the order of his plays, and then following, carefully and 
lovingly, the development of his mind and its expression in verse, been duly insisted 
on, or the methods and facts of the case set forth. But henceforward the principles 
advocated by the Society from its foundation are part and parcel of the Shakspere 
criticism of the present and the future." — Second Report, August, 1879. 



25 



T. G. to 1 in 28.1 or 3.56 % in W. T. ! This last test of Mr. Fleay's (Ingleby 
I.e.) is the only one resembling the pause-test suggested by Mr. Spedding, 
N. Sh. Soc. Trans., 1874, p. 2G. Again, in the early plays, the youthful poet 
naturally made free use of ryme. L. L. L., for example, contains two rymed 
lines to one of blank verse ; T., on the other hand, has but two rymed lines 
altogether, and IF. T. not one ! This is Mr. Fleay's " ryme-test." (N. Sh. 
Soc. Tmris., 1874. Shakspere Manual, 1876. Applied to all extant plays from 
1590-1640 in Ingleby 's Shakspere : Man and Book, II., p. 57 ff.) Furthermore, 
the early plays contain no " light " or " weak " endings. Light endings (per- 
sonal and relative pronouns, auxiliaries, etc., allowing a slight pause) appear in 
considerable numbers for the first time in Mcb. Weak endings (proclitics : 
prepositions and conjunctions, allowing no pause), first in A. C. This is Prof. 
Ingram's test, which, combined with the others, is very effectiv in fixing 
the order of the fourth period plays. ( Vid. N. Sh. Soc. Trans., 1874, pp. 448- 
450, where table of proportions and lists of endings may be found. These 
lists are corrected and enlargd by the test-committee of the St. Petersburg 
Shakspere Circle in Englische Studien, III. Bd. 3 heft, p. 483 ff.) The follow- 
ing table will show at a glance the results of the above tests applied to the 
three earliest and the four latest plays : — 



1 

Name of 
Play. 


o ? 

P- a 


s>.5 
1? 

u c 

-4 


QJ 

o a, 
C M 
|S 
t. ° 
o -% 
p. T 
o ^ 


o a. 

=3 O. 

gS 

u ^ 

Sis 


u 

W 
o £ 

o 5» 


"3 
|>3 

ii -a 
* ~ 


3 %> 

a a 

«1 

ll 

a '3 
s § 


If 

a a 


8 2 


Proportion of 
Kyme Liues to 
Blank Verse. 


Love's Labor's Lost 
Comedy of Errors 
Two Gent of Verona 


1 in 13.4 
1 in 10.7 
linlO 


5.5 
9.3 
10 


linl7.6* 
1 in 81.33 
1 in 21 54 


5.81 
1.23 

4.64 






1 in 280 







4 
12 
15 


3t 









1 in .58 
lin3 
liull 


Winter's Tale ... 1 in 2.12 
Henry VIII . . . . 1 in 2.03 


33.3 

39.7 
47.2 
49.2 


1 in 1.61 
1 in 1.06 
1 in 1.49 
1 in 1.5* 


61.86 
00.36 
66.93 
65.59 


1 in 42.1 
1 in 32.4 
1 in 28.1 
1 in 33.5 


2.37 
3.09 
3.50 

2.70 


33 

32 
31.09 

44 


2.88 
2.90 
3.12 
3.93 


1.71 
1.E3 
2.36 
3.23 


1 in 729 
lin30 
lin oo 
1 in oo 



* My own count. Total speeches in L. L. L., 1128; prose 526, verse 602: part-line 116, 
single-line 221, son.; 11, end-stopt 219, mid-stopt 35, of which 9 are followd by speeches be- 
ginning with t'.io beginning of the line. If these be reckond as part-line speech-endings, the 
proportion is 1 in 23.15 or 4.320', thereby bringing the play nearer to its rightful position. 
Total speeches in IV (Shakspere's part) 279, all verse: part-line 63, single-line 12, end-stopt 22, 
mid-stopt 182, only 8 of which are followd by speeches beginning with the beginning of the 
line, and of these occur at the entrance or exit of a speaker. 

t Total number. 



26 

"On the whole, then," says Mr. Fleay, in his latest paper, "we may say 
that by means of metrical tests we can always distinguish, generally deter- 
mine authorship, and usually ascertain at what period of an author's life a 
work was written. The conclusions drawn by me as to authorship or date 
are always based on large numerical differences. ... To the fallacy of the 
exact percentage-differential doctrine, however, the ryme test is an impor- 
tant exception. Not only is there a gradual disuse of ryme by every author 
from 1590-1640 as he grows older, but there is also a growing dislike on the 
part of the public to the mixture of ryme and verse." (Mr. Fleay cites as 
one proof, a scene from IIeywood's Royal King and Loyal Subject, acted in 
1603 but not publisht till 1637. Many rymed lines hav evidently been 
alterd to unrymed lines, to suit the changd fashion of the times which the 
author describes in the prolog. Revision, therefore, and alteration, must 
always be taken into consideration in applying the tests.) "For general 
chronological arrangement, then," he concludes, " I attach the highest im- 
portance to this ryme test. For separating the periods of Shakspere's work 
I rank the weak-ending test first in distinguishing the third and fourth 
periods ; the extra-middle syllable for separating the second and the third ; 
the ryme test for separating the first and second. For determining where 
revision has been at work, the short lines, especially at the beginning and 
end of speeches, are most useful." 

When these verse tests, then, corroborate the external evidence and the 
conclusions of the higher criticism based upon the evidence of gradually 
improving style and taste, profounder characterization, deeper reflection and 
pathos, loftier imagination and passion, broader humanity, and steadier 
moral grip, — evidence no less conclusiv because it cannot be definitly 
stated or numerically measurd, — it will be seen that "the critical study of 
the Poet's versification has not been without valuable results in helping to 
reveal to lovers of Shakspere "the greater Man than all his works," and in 
bringing about those conditions which have made possible " a new Victorian 
school of Shakspereans," and the production of such books as Dowden's 
Shakspere : His Mind and Art. 

The following table will show, in parallel columns, Dr. Dowden's and Mr. 
Furnivall's arrangement of the groups and the succession of the plays.* 

* "The student will observe in my arrangement early, middle, and later Comedy ; early, 
middle, and later History ; and early, middle, and later Tragedy. Not only is it well to view 
the entire body of Shakspere's plays in the order of their chronological succession, but also to 
trace in chronological order the three separate lines of Comedy, History, and Tragedy." 
Dowden, Mind and Art, p. x., 1879 s . " It would for many reasons be important and interest- 
ing to ascertain the date at which each work of Shakspere came into existence ; but as a fact 
this has not been accomplished, and we may safely say that it never will be accomplished. To 
understand in all essentials the history of Shakspere's character and art, we have obtained 
what is absolutely necessary, when we have made out the succession, not of Shakspere's plays, 
but of his chief visions of truth, his most intense moments of inspiration, his greater discov- 
eries about human life." lb. p. 378. 






riRSl" PERIOD. 



Dowden. 
"In the Workshop." 

Pre-Shaksperean Group. 
(Toiicht by Shakspere.) 
Titus Andronicus. (Blood, 

bombast, and fire.) 
1 III nry VI. 
1. Early Comedies. 
Love's labour 's Lost. 
Comedy of Errors. 
Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
Midsummer Night's Dream. 
3. Early History and Poems. 
(Marlowe-Shakspere Group.) 
1591-2. 2, 3 Henry VI. 
Richard III. 
Venus and Adonis. 
Lucrece. 

4. Early Tragedy. 
Itomeo and Juliet. 1596-7. 

5. Middle History. 
Richard II. 
King John. 



1588-90. 

1590-91. 

1590. 
1591. 

1592-3. 
1593-4. 



1593. 
? 1592. 
1593-4. 

1591. 

1594. 
1595. 



FURNIVALL. 

? 1588-1594. 



a. Titus Andronicus (not Shakspere's) 



b. The Mistaken-Identity Group. 



? 15S8-9. 


Love's Labour's Lost. 


? 1580. 


Comedy of Errors. 


? 1590-1. 


Midsummer Night's Dream 




c. Link Play. 


1590-1. 


Two Gentlemen of Verona. 


d. 


The Passion Group. 


1591-3: 


Romeo and Juliet. 


1593. 


Venus and Adonis. 


1593-4. 


Lucrece. 


1583-99. 


Passionate Pilgrim. 


e. 


The Early Histories. 


? 1593. 


Richard II. 


? 1592-4. 


1, 2, 3 Henry VI. 


? 1594. 


Richard III. 



SECOND PERIOD. 



" In theWorld." 

6. Middle Comedy. 
159G. Merchant of Venice. 
7. Later History. 
(History and coined}' united.) 
1597-8. 1, 2 Henry IV. 
1599. Henry V. 

8. Later Comedy. 
(a.) Rough and boisterous. 
V 1597. Shrew. 

? 1598. Merry Wives. (No sadness.) 
(b.) Joyous, refined, romantic. 

1598. Much Ado. (Musical sad- 

ness.) 

1599. As You Like It. (Jacques, 

link to the next group.) 
1600-1. Twelfth Night. 





? 1595-1601. 




a. 


The Life-Plea Group. 




V 1595. 


King John. 




? 1590. 


Merchant of Venice. 
b. A Farce. 




? 1596-7. 


Taming of the Shreic. 




c. Falstaff 


. Trilogy of Henry IV., 


V. 


1596-7. 


1 Henry IV. 




1597-8. 


2 Henry IV. 




1598-9. 


Merry Wives. 




1599. 


Henry V. 




d. The Sunny or Sweet Time Com©- 




dies. 




1599-1600. 


Much Ado. 




1600. 


As You Like It. 





1601. Twelfth Night. 



28 



1603. Measure for Measm c. (Se- 
vere, dark.) 
? 1603. Troihis, 1607. (Bitter, ironical.) 



e. The Darkening Comedy, 
1601-2. All** Well, 
f. Sonnets. 
(? 1595-1605, Dowden.) 



THIRD PERIOD. 



"Out of the Depths." 
9. Middle Tragedy. 

1601. Julius Ccesar. (Error and 
misfortune rather than crime.) 

1602. Hamlet. 



10. Later Tragedy. 

1604. Othello. (Jealousy and mur- 

der.) 

1605. Lear. (Ingratitude and par- 

ricide.) 

1606. Macbeth. (Ambition and 

murder.) 

1607. Antony and Cleopatra (Vo- 

luptuousness). 

1608. Coriolanus (Alienation from 

country). 
1607-8. Timon (Alienation from hu- 
manity). 
( Timon is the climax ! ) 



1601-1608. 
a. Unfit Nature, Under-Burden-failing 
Group. 
1601. Julius Casar. 

1602-3. Hamlet. 

? 1603. Measure for Measure. 

b. The Tempter-yielding Group. 
? 1604. Othello. 
1605-6. Macbeth. 



c. 1st. Ingratitude, Cursing 
1605-6. King Lear. 



Play. 



d. The Lust or False-Love Group. 
? 1606-7. Troilus and Cressida. 

? 1606-7. Antony and Cleopatra. 

e. 2d. Ingratitude, Cursing Group. 

V 1607-S. Coriolanus. (Haughtiness.) 
? 1607-8. Timon. (Misanthropy.) 



FOURTH PERIOD. 





On the Heights." 




1609-1613. 






Reunion, 


Reconciliation, Forgiveness, 




11. Romances. 


a 


. By Men. 


1608. 


Pericles (Marina). 


1608-9. 


Pericles. 


1609. 


Cymbeline. 


1609-10. 


Tempest. 


1610. 


Tempest. 


b. 


By Women (mainly). 


1610-11. 


Winter's Tale. 


?1610. 


Cymbeline. 




12. Fragments. 


1611. 


Winter's Tale. 


1612. 


Two Noble Kinsmen. 


1612-13. 


Henry VIII. 


1612-13. 


Henry VIII. 


1612-13. 


Two Noble Kinsmen. > 



29 



APPENDIX II. 

DESCRIPTIV LIST OF A FEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT 
WORKS ON ENGLISH VERSE. 

In addition to the books mentiorid in the note to the Preface, the student 
who wishes to continue the subject with the help of the very latest work on 
phonetics may be referrd to the elaborate analyses of audible speech (physical- 
acoustical, after IIelmiioltz, and anatomical-physiological, with excellent illus- 
trations of the organs of speech, etc., etc.) by F. Techmer, in the first num- 
ber of the new Internationale Zeitung* The numerous plates and tables will 
be very helpful, cvn to those who do not read German. The notes contain 
almost a complete bibliografy of the subject. Cf. his Phonetik, Leipzig, 1880. 
See also the references in the notes to pp. 11, 17, 10, above, and cf. W. D. 
Whitney on The Elements of English Pronunciation, in his Oriental and Lin- 
guistic Studies, p. 202 ff. (New York, 187-1). 

* F. TECiuiEr., Natuncissenschaftliche Analyse und Synthese der Horbaren 
Sprache, p. 69 ff. ; and Transshription mittels der Lateinischen Kursivschrift, p. 
171 if. (if the new Internationale Zeitschrift fur Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, 
I. Bd. 1. heft, Leipzig, 1881. The oft-repeated query may recur at this point : What 
has all this about phonetics, etc., to do with Shakspere's Versification, or with Eng- 
lish Metre ? Unfortunately the query itself is a good example of how little re- 
flection is givn to this branch of our subject. Mr. Buskin, in one of his petulant 
moods, once wrote, in reply to a request for his interpretation of a passage in Shak- 
spere (Yon gray lines that fret the clouds, J. C. ii. 1. 103, 101), " You say not one 
man in 150 knows what the line means. My clear Furnivall, not one man in 15,000 
in the nineteenth century knows, or ever can know, what any line, or any word 
means, used by a great writer. For most words stand for things that are seen, or 
things that are thought of: and in the nineteenth century there is certainly not one 
man in 15,000 who ever looks at anything, and not one in 15,000,000 capable of a 
thought." The proportion may not be quite the same ( !), but how few of us really 
observe, or arc conscious for any length of time, that we read and write one lan- 
guage and speak a very different one. To be sure, since the advent of the printing- 
pre s, with its manifold reproductions, the "letter" has been gradually extending 
its sole original function of representing sound, till now a Frenchman, for example, 
can learn to read English from a booh, and an Englishman French. The readers, 
however, hav but to exchange countries and becom speakers, to realize that what 
they hav learnd is not the English, not the French language. " Language is made 
up of sounds, not letters." The divorce of sound and letter, however, has now con- 
tinued so long in English, that English-speaking people hav almost completely lost 
their " phonetic sense " ; so that this subject of actual sound relations, which is at 
once one of the most essential, and in other countries one of the simplest, in language 
study, has to be pursued and applied by American students, not only with earnest, 
conscious effort, but in the face of no little conservativ opposition. But as "we 



30 

Now it is the deficiency in this physiological analysis of sound and the phe- 
nomena of spokn language that makes the early works on English Verse now 
almost valueless, and many of the late works almost irreconcilably contradic-. 
tory. Mitford (1804) and Guest (1838) are treasure-houses of examples, 
but their theories are erroneous and impracticable. In the Transactions of the 
Philological Society, London, 1874, p. 624, Prof. J. B. Mayor, in an article en- 
titled Dr. Guest and Dr. Abbott on English Metre, characterizes the followers of 
the former as of the intuitivist school, and the followers of the latter as of the 
mechanical routine school. (Cf. Abbott's English Lessons for English People, pp. 
152, 153.) Prof. Mayor's own idea of metrical accent is that it amounts 
merely to "the distinction between emphatic and unemphatic syllables" (p. 
637). His critical examination of the versification of Macbeth, however, in 
which he applies his (insufficient) theory, is worth consulting, particularly on 
the subjects of contractions and Alexandrines (Phil. Soc.Trans., 1875-76, p. 414). 
The first clear* light thrown on the subject was by Mr. Ellis's valuable 
paper on The Physical Constituents of Accent and Emphasis (Phil. Soc. Trans., 
1874, p. 113). He there distinguishes in the sounds of spokn verse: length, 
pitch, force, and form (including succession, glide, jump, and silence). Sec 
above, p. 19, note. And in the Phil. Soc. Trans. 1876, r p. 443, he defines 
English rythm as being "primarily governed by alternations and groups of 
strong and weak syllables, and materially influenced by alternations and 
groups of long and short, high and low, heavy and light syllables, and great and 
small pauses." Prof. Mayor, however, (ib., 454,) objects to his elaborate 
over-analysis, saying : " The one thing to attend to is the variation of force, 
arising either from emphasis in the case of monosyllables, or from the word- 
accent in polysyllables. When this is thoroughly grasped, it may be well to 

should avoid violent revolution in the words and externals of religion," so we should 
avoid violent revolution in the words and externals of language and literature. (Cf. 
Matthew Arnold, Last Essays, Works, ed. 1883, vol. vii. pp. xxi, xxix, 227; and 
Introduction to the Great Prophecy of Israel's Restoration, 1875 ; and his latest book, 
Isaiah of Jerusalem, 1883.) Yet not until still greater effort is made on the part 
of teachers, at least, to restore this lost "phonetic sense," or to arouse the above- 
mentioud complainants to an appreciation of the fact that it is lost, and on the 
part of readers, as well as speakers, of the living English language, to recognize the 
importance of "sound" knowledge, can we hope for better methods or more satis- 
factory results in our language work, particularly in such matters as this of Versi- 
fication, where the rythm entirely depends, not upon how the lines look, but upon 
how they sound. We do not ask for a radical change in spelling, but merely for a 
disposition to recognize the living reality beneath the arbitrary sj'mbol. It is n't 
tencouraging to hav every attempt to find out and show the thing as it is condem'd 
as " fiat burglary," or worse, on our (mythical) "dear old mother tongue." 

* At least in flashes. This brief abstract, like all the others, to be clearly appre- 
hended, must be read in the original with the author's illustrativ examples. There 
is, of course, space here for the main outlines only, — the most important points in 
each theory. 



31 

notice how the rhythm thus obtained receives a further coloring from pitch, 
length, or silence, from alliteration, and in various other ways, but all these 
arc secondary." Mr. S. H. Hodgson, on the other hand, (English Verse, in 
Outcast Essays, pp. 207-360, London, 1881,) tho he follows Ellis in recogniz- 
ing in every articulate sound four inseparable elements, duration, pitch or ac- 
cent, color or tone, and loudness or force, — thinks that there is more difference 
between time, the quantitative element, and the three qualitative elements of 
sound, than there is between these three among themselves (p. 227). Yet, 
while agreeing with Mr. Coventry Patmore that stress or accent is the 
sole source of English metre (Study of English Metrical Law, prefixt to his 
Amelia, Load., 1878), he is of the opinion that he employs it illogically to divide 
time into isochronous bars. English metres, he thinks, do not aim at dividing 
time into equal or proportionate lengths ; they aim at a response of phrase to 
phrase, or sound to sound. " Quantity, therefore, in the sense of lengths of 
concrete speech markt off by stresses, is obviously very different from quan- 
tity in the sense of equal lengths of the time which speech occupies, and still 
more from the measured quantity of syllables, giving rise to feet measured 
and defined by the length and number of syllables they consist of." (p. 237.) 
But because English verse sounds are not confined, like those of Greek and 
Latin, to a single proportion, 1 : 2, and are not likewise fixt in quantity, (the 
same sounds forming sometimes short, sometimes long syllables,) it is not to 
be inferrd that there is no such thing as time-quantity in English verse 
sounds.* The fact, too, that rythm frequently depends upon silences which 



* That it takes some time to pronounce English words, both in prose and verse 
is self-evident, and every one who doesn't read the blank verse of Shakspere's lat- 
est plays as prose (owing to its baffling variety of pause-substitutions, its great 
number of double-ending and run-on lines, and its complex interplay of logic-, sen- 
tence-, and word-accent) must be aware of at least one cause of the rythm in the con- 
sciousness that each whole line has approximately the same time-allotment. So 
much quantity in English verse we can unquestionably feel; (and we feel it in 
much the same manner that we find the way about our homes in the dark, or go up 
and down familiar flights of steps without looking, — we know just when we are 
about to reach the top or bottom ; so we detect by ear lines that are too long or too 
short;) whether we can definitly say more is uncertain. Mr. Lanier's application 
of the theory that the printed word is a measure of rythm, the merest tyro in pho- 
netics knows to be fallacious ; for it is only by chance that our word-division, as 
ordinarily printed, represents the words as actually pronounct in the verse. But 
tho we cannot, with perfect accuracy, divide the time-allotment of each whole line 
into equal smaller time-allotments, the musical notation possesses so many points 
of superiority over all other schemes, that, with this reservation, it has been 
adopted for practical school use. As every piece of music is interpreted differently 
by different performers, according as each introduces various "holds," "rests," etc., 
etc., not provided for in the notes, so every verse, according to this notation, is sub- 
ject to the same accidents of individual taste or rythmical feeling. (The selection of 



32 

cannot be accented, and that a series of random sound-units, tho accented 
regularly, are not rythmical unless there preexist some simple harmonious 
time-relations between the sound-units themselves, suggests the inference 
that accent is not the sole cause of English verse. " This misconception has 
arisen out of the failure to discriminate primary rhythm from secondary 
rhythm." (Sidney Lan#er, Science of Eng. Verse, New York, 1880.) By 
primary rythm he means the simple pre-existing time-relations between the 
sound-units ; and by secondary rythm, the arrangement, by means of accent, 
of this primary rythmic material into groups or bars (p. 103). When the 
rythmic accent recurs at that interval of time represented by three units 
of any sort, — no matter among how many sounds this amount of time may 
be distributed, — we have the effect upon the ear of 3-rythm ; by four units, 
that of 4-rythm. These two classes of secondary rythm comprise, as types, 
nearly all the combinations made by sound-units in English verse (p. 127). 
Applying, then, the musical notation used by Schmidt in his Introduction 
to the Rhythmic and Metric of the Classical Languages, if we take the type of 
Shakspere's verse to be a line-group of five bars, each of the typical form 

A_ (allowing all the variations of written music), we shall have 

r^) » "3 "p p perhaps a more scientifically accurate scheme than even 

I ■&•- p~~ | ,., I Ellis's improvement on the conventional definition gives us, 

and also one more in harmony with the spirit of English blank verse viewd 
historically as a variation of the 3-rythm type of versification, which, from 
Anglo-Saxon times to the present day, has been used by English poets with 
an almost passionate preference over the other type, seen in Lockshy Hall 
and in the classical hexameters, — the 4-rythm type. The following scheme 
exhibits a modern variation of this 3-rythm type; it is also the most ancient. 

__A _A A_ ,__ _^ 

t s — p — p_p_t=p — p — p_ t_p — p_..p_t_p — p — 7 — ^ 

Half a league, half a league, half a league on - ward. 



j^o :' * '*~M ^ * f\~*~ 



-* 



_p__: 



Into the valley of death rode the six hundred. 

Cf. Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon, and W. Morris's Lace is Enough. 
Piers Plowman (13G2), " who was the first that observed the true quantity of 
our verse without the curiositie of rime," * exhibits the moving forward of the 
accent : — 

the note E of the bass cleff in the following examples has no significance ; it was 
only takn for convenience.) 

* Francis Meres, Palladis Tamia, 1598, N. Sh. Soc. Trans., TV. Series, 1874, 
p. 156. 



33 



"In a som - • - er s<5 - son, whan soft was the son - ne, 

I shop - e me in shroudes as I a shtfp - - e wer - e. 

In Chaucer's verse we pass from what may be called the ancient heroic 
verse to the modern. In the first of the following examples observe that the 
types of Chaucer's verse and of Shakspere's early work are identical ; in the 
second, notice the similarity of the time-allotments in the last bar : — 



j3~ 



z* — m I * — *-=]—* P^t=P — ?-^}—t* — p— 



Biron. 
King. 
Biron. 
King. 



Whil - om, 
There was 

"What is 
Why, that 
Things hid 
Ay, tli at 

A 



old - e sto - ries tell - en us, 
duk that hight - e The - se - us. 

Knighte's Tale, 1. 
end of stud - y? Let me know, 
know which else we should not know, 
andbarr'd, you mean, from com - mon sense? 
is stud -y's god - like rec - om - pense. 

L. L. L. i. 1. 55. 



the 
to 



A 



A 



A 



A 



? le-fr* «IE# «_Fm (eJFp ps. i 



--g)T-3- 

When that A - prill -e with his schowr - es swoot - e 
The drought of Marche hath perc - ed to the root - e. 

Prolog. C. T. 1, 2. 

To be or not to be, that is trie question. 

Wh(5th - er 't is no - bier in the mind to suffer 

The slings and ar - rows of out - ra - geous fortune, 
O'r to take arms a - gainst a sea of troubles. 

H. iii. I. 56. 

In the second and fourth lines the first bar in each is changd to the form 

^ which is the type of Poe's Raven, Longfellow's Psalm 

-p/-^*--M — gzzi of Life, Emerson's Brahma, etc. Of course these schemes 

^-f — i*'—' are general types only of the rythmical theme upon 

which the poets have composed the melodious structure of their verse. 
It would be absurd to read Chaucer's verses without their rythmical pause- 
substitutions, as it would be to imagine Hamlet following rigidly the above 
scheme. Shakspere, wC have seen, as he grew in metrical insight and 



34 

power, discarded ryme, and by an immense variety of time-allotments in each 
of the five bars, and by a rythmical disposition of word and logical accent, 
created a music of his own, which bore but little superficial resemblance to the 
regular melody of the Chaucerian variation of the 3-rythm type. (See above 
on the Verse Tests.) 

• Some further useful hints perhaps may be got from Prof. Skeat's 
paper on Alliterative Metre (in the Percy Folio MS., ed. Hale and Furnivall, 
1S68), and in Mr. Stmond's article on Milton's BlankVerse, in the Fortnightly 
Review, December, 1874. Coleridge's Preface to Christabel, and Poe's 
Rationale of Verse, are interesting as curiosities. As usual, in all bibliograf- 
ical notes, however slight, (not excepting the subject of English,) the "latest 
and best " work is by a German. Aided by the Old-English publications 
of the London societies, Dr. J. Schipper, in his Englische Metrih, l ter Theil, 
(Bonn, 1882,) has produced the most scientific and comprehensive history of 
English verse that has yet appeared. The part now publisht, however, only 
comes down to Chaucer, and is therefore most useful to students of Early 
English. 



NOTES 



ON 



SHAKSPERE'S VERSIFICATION 



WITH APPENDIX ON THE VERSE TESTS, AND A 
SHORT DESCRIPTIV BIBLIOGRAFY. 



BY 



GEORGE H. BROWNE, A.M. 



BOSTON: 
GINN, HEATH, AND CO. 

1884. 



